To all of Conch-L:

        It is our sad duty to report the passing of well known
malacologist Twila Bratcher-Critchlow on Christmas Day. She was 95 years
old.  Twila was a research associate of the Malacology Section of the
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and a longtime honorary
member of the Conchological Club of Southern California (now the Pacific
Conchological Club), the San Diego Shell Club, and other organizations.
She collected worldwide shells and eventually became the worldwide
specialist on the living members of the family Terebridae (Auger
shells).  Twila authored or co-authored over 70 papers that ranged from
travelogues of her collecting and diving trips to descriptions of new
species in prominent malacological journals including The Nautilus, The
Veliger, The Festivus, and popular publications, including the
Philippine Shell News and Skin Diver magazine.  Her crowning achievement
was the publication of "Living terebras of the world" with Walter O.
Cernohorsky in 1987, which is still the major reference on the family.
She described 34 species of terebrids and a single epitoniid species
with the late Helen DuShane.  Her other co-authors included R.D. Burch,
Henk Mienis, and her sister Billie. Mollusk species named for Twila
include Splendrillia bratcherae McLean & Poorman, 1971 [Turridae],
Cymbovula bratcherae Cate, 1973 [Ovulidae], and Terebra twilae Bouchet,
1983 [Terebridae].  Twila donated numerous specimens to LACM Malacology,
particularly her world class terebrid collection, which was donated in
1997.  In 1990 she generously provided endowment funding for a future
chaired curatorial position for malacology. She will always be
remembered for her unparalleled generosity and wonderful smile.  Twila
is survived by husband Tom Critchlow and sister Billee Dillworth
Gerrodette, both of La Jolla, California.

Sincerely,

Lindsey

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Lindsey T. Groves
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Malacology Section, Collection Manager
900 Exposition Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
213-763-3376 (voice)
213-746-2999 (fax)
[log in to unmask] (e-mail)
http://www.nhm.org/research/malacology/groves.html
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